Anton Caputo: Sunscreen or greasy crap

Given the steady diet of deluges in recent weeks, sunscreen probably isn’t at the top of most people’s list of concerns right now. But come on, this is South Texas and it’s July. So you are probably going to get plenty of opportunity to burn your keister off real soon.

So slather on the sunscreen liberally, right? Well, it might not do much good if you’re using the wrong stuff.

The Environmental Working Group has investigated 783 name-brand sun screens and found that most, 84 percent, offer what the group terms “inadequate protection” or contain ingredients that have safety concerns of their own.

Issues included sunscreens protecting from only UVB rays, which can burn the skin, but not UVA rays, which can damage or age skin and even cause cancer. Many of the products are also found to break down quickly in direct sunlight, meaning they don’t protect for very long.

The Environmental Working Group’s report, titled Skin Deep, includes a complete ranking of all the products and pretty easy-to-understand language. It’s got a best and worst list, too. Check it out.